Sunny Deol is the 69-year-old Bollywood star who has spent four decades as Hindi cinema’s angry action hero — and in November 2026 he is back at the centre of the biggest film in Indian cinema, playing Hanuman in Ramayana: Rise of a Legend. The Nitesh Tiwari epic, released on 5 November 2026, collected ₹346.35 crore net in India in its first five days, according to trade tracker Sacnilk, making Deol’s return to the big screen part of one of the largest openings Indian cinema has ever seen.
Born Ajay Singh Deol, the elder son of the late Dharmendra, he debuted with Betaab in 1983 and built his stardom on Ghayal, Damini, Border and Gadar before a career comeback led by Gadar 2 in 2023. He has also served a term as a Member of Parliament. This biography covers his age, height, family, career, politics, and net worth.
| Full Name | Ajay Singh Deol |
| Date of Birth | 19 October 1957 (age 69 as of November 2026; some bio sites list 1956 — see notes) |
| Height | 5’8″ (174 cm; some sources list 5’9″ or 5’10” — see FAQ) |
| Birthplace | Sahnewal, Punjab, India |
| Occupation | Actor, director, producer; former Member of Parliament |
| Known For | Betaab, Ghayal, Damini, Border, Gadar, Gadar 2, Ramayana (Hanuman) |
| Spouse | Pooja Deol (married 1984; also reported as Lynda Deol) |
| Net Worth 2026 | ~₹130 crore (media estimate, October 2026 — see Net Worth section) |
Early Life
Ajay Singh Deol was born on 19 October 1957 in Sahnewal, Punjab, to Bollywood star Dharmendra and his first wife Prakash Kaur, in a Punjabi Jat family. He grew up in Mumbai with a younger brother, Bobby Deol, and two sisters, Vijeta and Ajeeta. His stepmother is Hema Malini, actresses Esha Deol and Ahana Deol are his paternal half-sisters, and actor Abhay Deol is his cousin.
Deol completed his schooling at Sacred Heart Boys High School in Mumbai and studied at Ramniranjan Anandilal Podar College of Commerce and Economics. After college he went to England to study theatre at the Old Rep Theatre in Birmingham, where he performed on stage before returning to India to make his film debut. He has spoken publicly about having dyslexia, which made reading and writing difficult for him at school, while he excelled at sports and co-curricular activities.
Career
Deol made his acting debut opposite newcomer Amrita Singh in the romantic drama Betaab (1983), produced by his father and directed by Rahul Rawail. The film was a major commercial success — the second highest-grossing Indian film of 1983 — and made both its leads overnight sensations. He followed it with action hits such as Arjun (1985) and Tridev (1989), establishing himself as an action hero.
His stardom was cemented by Rajkumar Santoshi’s Ghayal (1990), in which he played a boxer accused of murder; the film won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and the National Film Award – Special Jury Award. In 1993 he delivered two career-defining performances: the volatile lawyer in Santoshi’s Damini, which won him the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor — and gave Hindi cinema the iconic dialogues “Tarikh pe tarikh” and “Dhai kilo ka haath” — and the army officer in Yash Chopra’s Darr, alongside Shah Rukh Khan in his breakthrough role. His biggest commercial successes of the period were the war film Border (1997) and Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), the latter the highest-grossing Hindi film up to that point.
After more than a decade of setbacks, Deol made a career comeback by reprising his role as Tara Singh in Gadar 2 (2023), which grossed about ₹691 crore worldwide and became the highest-grossing film of his career. He solidified the comeback with Jaat, released on 10 April 2025, which crossed ₹100 crore, and Border 2, released on 23 January 2026, in which he starred as Lt Col Fateh Singh Kaler alongside Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty. The sequel grossed over ₹440 crore worldwide, according to reports, and Wikipedia lists it as the second-highest-grossing Indian film of 2026; Deol was reportedly paid ₹50 crore for the role.
His latest role is Hanuman in Namit Malhotra’s Ramayana: Part 1, directed by Nitesh Tiwari and released on 5 November 2026 in five languages. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Rama and Sai Pallavi as Sita, with Yash as Ravana. According to trade tracker Sacnilk, as reported on 10 November 2026, the film collected ₹346.35 crore net in India in five days — including a record ₹107.50 crore on its fifth day, the Monday after Diwali — and ₹663.90 crore worldwide. Business Today reported that Deol was reportedly paid ₹40 crore for the role, a figure the makers have not confirmed.
Politics
Deol entered politics in 2019, joining the Bharatiya Janata Party on 23 April that year. He contested the Lok Sabha election from Gurdaspur in Punjab and won, defeating the Congress candidate Sunil Jakhar by 82,459 votes. He served as the Member of Parliament for Gurdaspur from 23 May 2019 to 4 June 2024.
He did not seek re-election in 2024, saying that politics did not suit him and that he wanted to concentrate on films.
Personal Life
Deol has been married to Pooja Deol — also reported as Lynda Deol — since 1984, and the couple have two sons, Karan and Rajveer, both of whom are actors. Karan Deol made his debut in Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas (2019), and Rajveer Deol debuted in Dono (2023). Deol has kept his family life largely private across his four-decade career, and his wife rarely appears in public with him.
The last year has been a difficult one for the Deol family. His father, Dharmendra, died on 24 November 2025 at his Mumbai residence, aged 89, due to age-related ailments, as reported by The Hindu. In November 2026, Deol visited his late father’s farmhouse with his son Karan and shared a video on social media, writing “Missing you papa”, as Moneycontrol reported.
Sunny Deol Net Worth 2026
Sunny Deol’s net worth in 2026 is estimated at around ₹130 crore, according to reports published around his birthday in October 2026 by Outlook India and Inshorts. The same reports note that the figure has not been independently verified, and that his real-estate portfolio — properties in Mumbai, London and Manali — was estimated at around ₹150 crore by The Financial Express in January 2026. Older celebrity-wealth aggregators give much higher figures, including ₹339 crore (about $50 million), so the range of published estimates is wide and none of them is a confirmed financial disclosure.
The only hard-number anchor is his 2019 election affidavit, which declared assets of ₹87.19 crore and a net worth of ₹33.73 crore. His income comes from films — he was reportedly paid ₹50 crore for Border 2 and a reported ₹40 crore for Ramayana, neither figure confirmed by the makers — along with production through his company Vijayta Films, brand endorsements and property.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Sunny Deol?
Sunny Deol is 69 years old. He was born on 19 October 1957 in Sahnewal, Punjab, and turned 69 on 19 October 2026. Some bio-aggregator websites list his birth year as 1956, which would make him 70, but Wikipedia and October 2026 birthday coverage report 1957.
How tall is Sunny Deol?
Sunny Deol is listed at 5’8″ (174 cm) by most sources. Some websites round the same 174 cm figure to 5’9″, and Pinkvilla lists him at 5’10”, so published heights vary between 5’8″ and 5’10”.
Who is Sunny Deol’s wife?
Sunny Deol’s wife is Pooja Deol, whom he married in 1984. Wikipedia’s infobox gives her name as Lynda Deol. The couple have two sons, Karan Deol and Rajveer Deol, both actors.
What is Sunny Deol’s net worth in 2026?
Sunny Deol’s net worth in 2026 is estimated at around ₹130 crore, according to media reports from October 2026. The figure is an estimate, not a verified disclosure; his 2019 election affidavit declared a net worth of ₹33.73 crore, and older aggregator sites have claimed figures as high as ₹339 crore.
What is Sunny Deol’s role in Ramayana?
Sunny Deol plays Hanuman in Ramayana: Part 1 (Ramayana: Rise of a Legend), directed by Nitesh Tiwari and released on 5 November 2026. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana. According to Sacnilk, it collected ₹346.35 crore net in India in its first five days.
When is Ramayana Part 2 releasing?
Reports differ on the date of Ramayana: Part 2. NDTV Profit reported in November 2026 that it is expected during Deepavali 2027, while The Times of India reported the same month that it is slated for Diwali 2028. No date has been officially confirmed by the makers.
